


Raise the Anchor

by ReinadeAlegria



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: I don't know what I'm doing, I was in a sad state of mind when I wrote this, M/M, Pirates because duh, Yeosang and Jongho do show up btw, except big crowds, it gets sad and stabby before it gets better, remember every character, they are all important
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 08:32:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17763368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReinadeAlegria/pseuds/ReinadeAlegria
Summary: Seonghwa is the crowned prince of the South Gyeongsang Province. Recently, there's been talk about pirates slowly conquering the lands around, merchants and peasants appearing from the from the North province and the South Jeolla Province asking for refuge.One day, misjudging their time to raise their defenses, the prince gets kidnapped by some very interesting pirates that lead him to have a reunion with a very old friend.~slow updates, sorry! Major writer's block xx~





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! She's alive!! Sorry I haven't posted for my Skz fic, I was writing a few chapters to get them all up and my computer stopped working on me :< hope you'll enjoy this for now, I have a backup of my document, so hopefully I can update it soon!!
> 
> Xx

 

*

 

Never in his life did Seonghwa think he'd be as annoyed to sit in his favorite place in the house then he did now. The study was his sanctuary, his place of solitude; but now it felt more like a war zone, guards rushing in and out as his father's booming voice broke the silence through the entire house. His father is either ignoring him from where he's standing upstairs near the railing of the balcony, or he genuinely hasn't caught sight of his son yet.

"—And make sure Seonghwa does not try to run off into the city anymore. We need to stay alert of the palace, and that includes everyone in it."

"I'm not a child anymore," Seonghwa says, leaning lazily against the rail; his father jumps in surprise at his voice before turning around look up at him.

"How long have you been there?"

 

_Maybe he wasn't ignoring me._

 

"Depends. Since you've started this whole ordeal, or since this morning after breakfast. You pick."

He sees more than hears his father sigh, "If you _insist_ you are not a child, then do not behave like one. We have more important things to worry about than fixing that attitude of yours."

Seonghwa places the book he had in his hands down on the chair he was using, before walking down the stairs.

"Would you prefer it if I leave then? Distracting the king from his—" he looks down at his father's desk, looking at the papers that would surely cause him a headache, "— _urgent_ duties is unforgivable."

He knows for a fact that the tone he's using will surely get him in trouble later, but right now the only thing on his mind is to see if he can finally pop that vein on his father's right temple.

"Leave at once. I have more important matters to discuss regarding _your_ safety."

Seonghwa rolls his eyes, turning on his heels before his father calls out to him again.

"One more thing, my dear boy."

 

"Yes father?"

"Do not disregard your life so easily. I am very afraid that the way you treat it, you will not last for your time to take the throne."

_Maybe that's the plan_ , he thinks, but instead says, "Yes, sir."

 

*

 

" _Mother_ ," Seonghwa whines as he watches her calmly sew a new quilt together.

"What do you want me to say, my dear? Your father is only doing what is best for us, and here you are complaining about how _safe_ your life is. Do you not wish to see your people thrive? They cannot do that if they do not have a successor!"

"He's imprisoning us! What will our people think if they're attacked by pirates and we're here, safe and secure? We won't have any people to rule over then."

"Seonghwa," his mother sighs, "please understand that the people have their duties and we have ours. We protect the people we can, including the crowned prince, and they obey and understand how the laws work. They have faith in you and your father to run this land fairly."

"It's not fair. We should be out there with the people, reassuring them that we'll try everything in our power to keep them safe. What's the point of me training like a soldier if I can't use those skills?"

 

"You have gotten used to being out there with the people. You even sound like them."

She gives him a smile.

"Didn't you love the city? Your stories about sneaking away sound a lot like mine. Why do you hide them?"

"I was younger then. I have—"

"Important duties," Seonghwa sighs.

His mother stops sewing, looking towards the doors of her personal chambers before lowering her voice.

"I wish that you'll always think this way, even when you're older and ready for the throne. I trust you'll do the right thing for the people, but you can only do that if you're alive."

He smiles sadly, "Why didn't you stay? Are you happy here?"

"I loved the city and the people; but I love your father too. It was a difficult choice, but I don't regret it. I had you."

 

Just as he's about to ask her something else, a yell rings out through the home. Seonghwa and his mother stand together in shock, the quilt dropping to the floor and her pins and needles scattering everywhere.

"Mom—"

" _Seonghwa_!"

His father bursts through the doors, the look of panic on his face softening for a moment before returning.

"They are here! We need to get you to safety."

"Pirates," Seonghwa hears his mother whisper. He reaches for her hand, squeezing it before trailing behind his father.

The three of them go down the stairs as quickly as they can, guards running all throughout the home, trying their best to get a view of the intruders.

"Our senior guards will take you to safety—"

 

His father doesn't get to finish telling him what the plan is, the three royals freezing in place as the main doors of the palace open. They watch as two guards stand there, staring ahead silently before dropping to the floor with a _thud_ , their blood slowly coloring the floor.

Behind the two dead guards stood two tall men, dressed in torn clothing, damaged black coats, matching black leather gloves, bandages wrapped lazily around several of their wounds, although it looked like they didn't seem to care that they were hurt. They had guns strapped to their waists and swords drawn, dripping with blood. The most concerning thing Seonghwa takes in is that they are both wearing masks up to their noses, yet he can see that they're smiling.

His father draws his sword, pushing Seonghwa away, who has his mother cowering behind him.

The guards don't have much time to react, the two men tearing through them calmly, almost looking bored.

Seonghwa has enough time to finally react, grabbing his mother by the shoulders before grabbing a guard and demanding that he take her somewhere safe.

"My prince, your father—"

"I _don't_ care what my father said, get her out of here!"

The guard hesitates, before nodding and saluting Seonghwa, and turning to the queen.

Seonghwa's hands are shaking as he pulls a sword out of the hands of one of his dead guards, making his way behind his father and staring towards the two pirates.

" _Well, well, well_."

 

"We got lucky."

One of the pirates bows dramatically (Seonghwa notes that he's trying to make it look as _wrong_ and disrespectful as possible), before standing straight and throwing his hands in the air.

"Your highness! What an _honor_ it is to finally meet you!"

His voice startles Seonghwa, not because of how deep it is, but because of how _childish_ or seemingly young the way he speaks.

"Leave at once. You have no right to be here, this is against the laws o—"

The same pirate who was playfully undermining his father suddenly draws his gun, pointing it straight at his father's forehead.

"I do not know if you notice, my king," his tone has drastically changed in a manner of seconds, dripping with venom and a feeling Seonghwa can't quite put his finger on, "but we are the exception. We don't follow your rules or laws."

The other pirate finally speaks up, "You have something we want. And we were told by someone with a very important position that we were to obtain it. By _any_ means necessary."

 

"What is it you want?"

Seonghwa asks quietly, and almost immediately regrets it; he's gotten the attention of both pirates, their eyes lighting up as soon as the see him, almost as if they hadn't noticed he'd been standing there the whole time.

_And here I was bitter that people ignored me._

 

The pirate who isn't pointing the gun at his father walks lazily towards him, tilting his head like a curious dog. A very scary, curious dog.

"And who might _you_ be?"

Seonghwa tries to steady his hand holding the sword, staring straight into the pirate's eyes.

"He's a guard in training," He hears the panic in his father's voice.

The pirate standing in front of his father snickers, while the other one just stares at him. He doesn't know what to do, wondering whether or not he should get in between his father and that gun; unfortunately, the pirate standing closer to him doesn't give him enough time.

 

" _No_."

 

The disbelief in his voice puts Seonghwa on edge. The pirate takes a step forward, and he instinctively takes one back. It seems that his movements give the pirate all the information he needs, and even though he knows its there, he can't see the evil smile hiding behind the mask.

What he doesn't expect, is for the pirate to take the mask off. He pulls it off from his right ear to the left, letting the prince see his face fully, the smile just as unnerving as he'd expected. It's too nice, too bubbly for a pirate to have. The pirate's features confirm what Seonghwa had believed; not only was the pirate holding the gun towards his father young, so was the pirate in charge of speaking on behalf of their leader.

He walks closer to Seonghwa, grabbing onto the blade of the sword and forcefully lowering it, fighting with him for a moment before he ultimately wins. The blade slices through his glove easily and digs into his skin, but it doesn't look like he cares, the smile never once leaving his features.

"It is an absolute pleasure to finally meet you—" the way the pirate leans in closer sends chills down his spine, "— _little prince_."

Seonghwa gasps as he's suddenly pulled towards the pirate, and his first instinct is drop to the floor before sliding around behind his attacker. He manages to turn and kneel behind the pirate, his sword steady and drawn so that it's in perfect position to go straight through the heart.

"You have spirit, I'll give you that."

He's breathing heavily, but he doesn't care. His body's finally reacting to the all the immediate events that have taken place at his home, and its screaming for him to stop whatever is happening and get _out_.

"What do you want?"

"Seonghwa," the boy's father says in a steady voice, "go to your mother."

"No."

"This is—"

"I don't _care_ if it's an order!"

"Answer me," The prince manages through gritted teeth, "or I swear, I'll kill you."

 

"Your family has something we want," the pirate in front of his father finally speaks again.

"What is it?"

"Whatever it is," His father cuts in, "we do not have it."

"So that's how it's gonna be."

Seonghwa doesn't have any time to react, the pirate in front of him swiftly turning, and the next then the prince realizes, he's face to face with a dagger.

"Tell us where it is."

"We do not have what your looking for!"

 

The smile on the pirate's face finally drops, looking over to his partner, before gesturing towards the king.

"Kill him."

"NO!"

Seonghwa somehow manages to duck away from the pirate and his dagger, finally managing to push himself in between his father and the gun.

"Kill me," Seonghwa says.

" _Seonghwa_!"

"I said kill me!"

The pirate holding the gun to his forehead narrows his eyes before reaching up to take his mask off. He, unlike his partner, doesn't have any comforting features.

"And _what_ do I have against you?"

His voice is cold and emotionless, all playfulness from early gone.

"The province will be fine without me," Seonghwa is breathing hard, he can't feel his hands, and it isn't helping that he's quite literally staring down a gun; maybe he's nervous.

"My father still has plenty of time to rule—"

"Why do I care?"

Seonghwa sighs, "Please, not him."

The pirate simply rolls his eyes, and the prince watches as he lowers his finger towards the trigger.

 

_That's it. It's over._

 

His ears are ringing and his heart stops dancing in his chest. He's calm, and he doesn't understand why he's not trying to do everything in his power to stop the man from killing him right here. His body is frozen to the spot but it's not scary, no; it's comforting. The thought of death plays over and over in his head and he's okay. Over and _over_ —

 

" _—gi_ no!"

The other pirate runs towards them and lowers the gun of the other pirate. They both look at each, the one stopping the other whispering something before looking back at the prince and the king. Seonghwa lets out a breath and his ears are still ringing but he knows he's not going crazy when he can hear gunfire and celebratory yells in the distance.

"I have a better idea."

The pirate with the gun backs off, placing it back in his holster and watches as his partner takes over.

Seonghwa is grabbed by the pirate he'd sliced into earlier, around the neck and waist, the same dagger he'd pulled on the prince earlier, now inches away from his neck. As much as he tries to fight against the pirate, his body is still in shock and all he can do is struggle weakly against him.

He hears his father yell, sword drawn once more but he feels the knife come into contact with his neck.

"You won't give us what we want," the pirate slowly backs away from Seonghwa's father, tugging the prince along with him, "then we won't give you what you want."

 

All of a sudden, the home of the royals is rushed by hundreds of other pirates, and the two masked pirates disappear into the rioting crowd with the prince.

*


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!! Updates will be kind of slow since I have school, but I'll try my best to update as fast as I can.
> 
> Thanks for reading Xx

*

 

 _Damn pirates_ , Seonghwa thinks to himself, _how the hell did they manage to kidnap the crowned prince in broad daylight?_

 

As soon as the two pirates rushed him out of his home, they had tied his wrists together behind his back with _his_ belt. Not only that, they'd somehow managed to sneak him through the city without anyone noticing or questioning them. It's as if they were invisible, or maybe people just didn't want the responsibility of dealing with pirates.

It's not until they're closer to the bad side of town, and walking through the dangerous alleyways that Seonghwa can't stay quiet anymore.

"Damn pirates," the prince mutters under his breath.

"You should be nicer to us. We could kill you right now if you want."

" _Yunho_ ," the other pirate sighs, "if you wanted to kill him, I could've done that when I had the chance."

"And let you have all the fun?"

Seonghwa huffs, yanking himself away from Yunho's grip, turning around to face the two pirates. They don't react much, other than momentary surprise, they both seem unbothered by him freeing himself.

"Do either of you have any decency? You're talking about a _life_ ; how little it must mean to either of you to live."

"What do you know," the other pirate asks, "do _you_ even know what it means to live?"

The prince is about to reply but he stops himself; _did_ he know? Was living locked away in that home for his entire life really living? Could he confidently tell his two abductors that he knows what it means to feel alive, to _be_ alive?

They must be able to see his answer in his expression because Yunho grabs Seonghwa by the shoulder, and waits for him to make eye-contact before speaking,

"We didn't think so."

He tells him so seriously that Seonghwa feels all his strength leave his body. He leans against the one of the gross alley walls.

"I wanna go home."

Yunho sighs, tugging on the prince's arm to make him stand straight before pushing him lightly to continue walking, "We all _want_ something."

 

  
As they begin walking again, the other pirate speaks again, "You speak weird."

Seonghwa looks back at him briefly, "What does that mean?"

"You don't speak... _royally_."

He can't help but laugh, "Is that weird? You don't speak royally."

"I'm not a prince, or _any_ other type of royal for that matter."

Just as they make their way into an open street, the two pirates yank Seonghwa back, covering his mouth as they hear yelling and people running. _The guard_. The prince tries to struggle in their grip, his screams muffled by the leather gloves the pirates were wearing.

"Quiet down," Yunho whispers harshly in his ear, bringing the prince closer to flatten them against the wall, "or I won't hesitate to dig your own sword into your chest."

"We need to get out of here, there's only a few hours before the sun'll begin to set."

"Here's what we're going to do," The other pirate stands in front of Seonghwa, pulling out his gun and placing it against the prince's temple, "we're going to untie you and you're going to follow us. And if you do much as _step_ the wrong way—"

He feels more than he hears the gun click and his heart drops. He watches as the pirate nods to Yunho and he feels his wrists go free. They don't waste time to shove him out of the alley and rush him through the streets towards the end of town. They're close to the edge of the city when someone recognizes Seonghwa.

" _Is that the prince?_ "

"Oh shit," the pirate whispers from in front of him.

"It is! It's the prince!"

" _Mingi_ ," Yunho warns.

"I know."

It starts with one person, then two; then three, then ten, before it starts to become a crowd as the three try to walk as calmly as they can away from the people.

" _Stop_!"  
  
"Time to go," Yunho turns to his partner—Mingi, before looking at Seonghwa.

"Sorry, princess."

They don't give him time to ask what that means, and he feels a pain shoot through his stomach before he feels himself lose consciousness.

 

*

 

Minho tosses the limp body of the prince down on the sand, dropping down to sit next to him. He's breathing heavily and watches as Yunho looks around to see if any of the guards had followed them that far out of the city. They'd made it to the shore just as the sun began to set, and the pirate's both happy and relieved that they'd managed to make it out of the city before nightfall.

He watches as Yunho crouches next to the water, checking his pocket watch before looking out into the sea.

_We're lucky it's a new moon. The rest of the crew won't suffer tonight._

They did, unfortunately, miscalculate how long they'd be in the city, and by the look on his partner's face, they were early and late at the same time.  
  
_We should've time the rounds better._

It obviously wasn't their best plan to just run, but no other option was available to them in that moment. It did help to escape without the complains of their hostage, however it didn't make his dead weight any easier to run with.

 _And I was stuck carrying him_ , Mingi thinks bitterly.

 

"I think we're okay," Yunho tells him when he makes his way towards the two, moving to sit down next to Mingi, "for now anyway."

"I can't believe you knocked him out," Mingi says while looking down at the prince, "he's heavier than I thought he'd be."

"We had to get out of there, you really think he'd come without putting up a fight?"

Mingi rolled his eyes, "We should've just killed him."

"It would've been easier, "Yunho agrees before shaking his head, "but this way we can _guarantee_ that we'll get what we want."

"How do you know that?"

"You really believe that they won't fight tooth and nail for their beloved prince? When we went and took over the other provinces, what little information we got on the king was _useless_. All we know is that the farther you look back into his family, the royal bloodline eventually collides with the first original pirate family. He has to know who it is."

"And you think holding onto his kid will make him hand over that information?"

He shrugs, "I can't tell you that I'm sure, but it's leverage. The only thing keeping him from sending all his guards to slaughter us is the prince."

"Well you could've at least carried him," Mingi sighs, "he's heavier than he looks."

Yunho laughs, "Why would I do that," he playfully shoves the other pirate's shoulder, "when I've got a strong man like you around?"

"I'm pretty sure you're stronger than I am."

 

  
"We need to get going."

The pirate stands, looking down at his partner and the prince. He walks over to Seonghwa, kneeling down in front of him.

"You're gonna get us what we want," he mutters as he ties the prince's wrists together, "and it's all gonna be up to whether or not your family values your life."

Yunho turns to Mingi, "You're up."

"Can't we carry him together," Mingi whines.

 

*

 

 _Water_.

It's calming and clear; it holds on to everything, and the secrets it keeps is the water's possession alone. Rocking back and forth.

But water is also dark; it's scary and loud, and it won't hesitate to swallow you whole if given the chance.

Seonghwa fell in love with the sea when he was a young child. He holds wonderful memories of his mother splashing him as they stood close to the shore, the water as clear as day as the sun shone down on it, as if it were reaching to give the ocean a high-five. He remembers when she taught him how to swim, how to watch and learn the waves, when to know not to enter the water when it was angry.

Every memory near the ocean reminds him of a scene from a painting, but they never did the real thing justice.

This, however, isn't a memory.

It's a dream, a _nightmare_. And it's rocking back, and forth.

Seonghwa can see the water from where he's standing on the shore, the pirates lined up behind him on the beach with their swords and guns drawn, all pointed towards him. He's afraid and there's nowhere to run, and his only way to escape them is the ocean; but he won't move. Fear has him frozen in place; the men in line are scary, but the ocean roaring in front of him is scarier.

He looks back to the pirates, and his heart drops because they are no longer the men he feared. Instead, he sees the guards he's grown up with, the men who swore their lives to the royal family. He recognizes each of their faces, some he can name and some who he hasn't really gotten to know yet, and the scariest of them all is the man in the middle. He's staring right at Seonghwa, right _through_ him, eyes blank and hand steady as he raises the pistol in his hand. And he's _still_ rocking, back and forth.

And as Seonghwa lets out a scream, he hears the shot ring out. He's scared, he's scared.

Because the man killing him is his _father_ —

 

  
Seonghwa wakes up with a gasp, coughing in surprise as he tries to catch his breath.

His vision is blurry and as he tries to adjust he notices a few things. One.

 _Rocking_ , he thinks, _I'm on a... boat?_

Two.

His stomach and back hurts, and when he raises his hand to rub at his face, he sees that he can't because he's tied to a wooden post.

Three.

" _Damn pirates_ ," He says to himself.

And maybe this is his nightmare, to be part of the resistance even though it's not by choice, but he hopes to whatever's out there that he'll be brought home safely.

 

The only thing, Seonghwa thinks, is _how_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the mistakes!! As always, thanks to my friend A for giving me the cheering on I need to write this Xx


	3. Chapter 2

 

*

"Are you _crazy_?!"

Yunho rolls his eyes as looks up to the pirate from where he's sitting. They'd managed to make it back to the ship without any problems, the rowboats making their rounds without delay. It was easy to get the prince on the boat, most of the pirates still out in the city by nightfall doing... _whatever_ they were doing.

"I had a job to do and I did it," He sighs as he tilts his head up towards the sky, the morning sun shining down brightly and clearly. 

 _And warm_ , Yunho thinks, _not that it matters_. 

"Your job was to get the information we wanted from the king, not _kidnap_ the prince!”

“San,” Mingi sighs, “stop yelling.”

“And what were _you_ doing while he was taking the prince hostage?”

 

Yunho watches the two as they begin to bicker, and he realizes what a blessing in disguise it was to be on land for once. He never minded having Mingi tag along whenever he left to do errands. The other pirate was fine on his own, he’s less to deal with and easier too, but when he’s around other pirates, its the exact opposite. The part that worries Yunho the most is how San’s the one that brings out the worst in him.

It bothers Yunho to see this; he’s known Mingi for a long time, and he’s known San even longer but seeing their personalities take an extreme turn when they’re around each other is just… _upsetting_.

Another thing that bothers Yunho is how much San’s temper changes around Mingi too. They try their best to get along, and that usually means they’re spend their time on opposite ends of the ship, or one’s on land while the other isn’t.

 

_Three beautiful days of silence_ , Yunho thinks as he stands up, _I’m gonna throw myself off this damn boat_.

 

He reaches over to smack San on his forehead with one hand while he pulls Mingi’s ear with the other. He stands in between them and makes sure that his tone sounds final. 

“ _Enough_. Both of you.”

“Take responsibility,” San huffs as he rubs the middle of his forehead, “what will _he_ say when he gets back? Do you think he’ll be happy with this? You need to let the prince go before you get everyone in trouble— _Hey_!” 

He ignores the sounds of protest coming from his friends, instead shoving San gently away by a hand on his chest while he walks Mingi away, still pulling him by the ear.

“Alright! I get it, I get _it_!”

“Do you really?”

 

Just as he’s about to list all the reasons why Mingi shouldn’t anger San today, the biggest reason of them all can be heard from inside the cabin.

“Damn.”

“ _Yunho_! Your princess, your problem!”

“I didn’t know he would be that loud,” Mingi shrugs when he gives him an annoyed look, “why are you looking at me like that? I did what you asked!”

 

“ _Watch_ yourself,” Yunho growls as he passes by San, letting Mingi lead them towards the cabin, shutting the door behind them. The two give each other a look, before they hear another yell; Yunho sighs. 

“Why couldn’t he be quiet for another hour?”

Mingi shakes his head as they slowly make they way though the entire cabin, opening another door that led to a storage space where a hatch was located at the center of the room.

  

Yunho’s been on a lot of ships, both living on them and seizing them, but he’s never seen one as big as this one. It's seen its days, being rebuilt and modified, as well as expanded and repainted; Yunho wouldn’t be surprised if it was older than the last four generations of the current captain _combined_.

How much time and effort did the captains put into this family treasure, their life, their home? He thinks about the captain, _he’d probably give his life to see that this vessel never sinks_.

 

“Good morning!” Yunho’s voice booms in the small cellar, smiling widely at the prince, arms outstretched.

He rolls his eyes.

The pirate pouts.

“That’s a first,” he turns to Mingi, “that wakeup call usually gets a better response.”

Mingi scoffs, “Sure it does.”

 Yunho watches as he kneels in front of the prince, “What do you want?”

 “Let. Me. _Go_.”

 “ _Really_ ,” Mingi crosses his arms, leaning closer to the prince’s face, “Is that really all you’ve got?”

“Stop wasting out time. We’ve got more important things to do than babysit you.”

Mingi stands and the two pirates walk towards the ladder for the hatch, but stop as the prince calls out.

“What do you want from my father?”

 

Yunho stops with one of his hands reaching towards the hatch. He looks over at his partner who shakes his head. They both turn to the prince who’s looking between them, trying to read their reaction.

 “What’s so important that you needed to take me?”

 “Are you really asking this?” Mingi asks.

 Yunho looks at him.

 “Why are you pretending like you don’t know?”

 “What? Pretending? I’m—”

 “You expect us to believe you don’t know?”

 “I don’t!”

 Yunho finally looks back at the prince, before giving one last look to his partner before he realizes that he actually _doesn’t_ know.

 Oh. _Oh_ , this is better than he’d ever hoped for.

 

He walks closer to the prince, “Your father never told you.”

 It’s not a question.

 “Told me _what_?”

 

* 

Seonghwa is angry; and confused, and a lot of other emotions that he can’t put in to words. He’s looking at the two pirates that took him from his home hours ago (was it hours? how long had he been out? Had days passed already?), and he wishes that he wasn’t in such a vulnerable position. The lighting in the cellar is not the best, and the shadows covering parts of their faces make them look scarier than they probably are.

“ _Told me what?_ ”

He clenches his fists, the rope around his wrists scraping at his skin roughly.

 He watched as the pirate kneels to be at eye-level with him; and then he smiles.

 It's unnerving, Seonghwa thinks, and he’s so wrong. They _are_ scarier than they look, and it makes him shift uncomfortably. 

 It's the same feeling he had when the pirate had first smiled at him. Bubbly, too nice, too polite. Maybe that’s what makes it frightening; it's dangerous. He’s dangerous.

 

 They’re dangerous.

 

Seonghwa won’t make it through this.

 

 “Your family’s keeping secrets,” The pirate— _Yunho_ — whispers, “what a dangerous thing to do.”

 “What do you mean?”

 He doesn’t answer, instead he keeps talking, “That means he knows. And he knows that we’re _close_.”

 “Close to what?”

 “The lost Heir,” Mingi growls.

 Seonghwa looks up at him; unlike his partner, his face never lights up with a dangerously happy look. It’s serious, inpatient, _deadly_.

 There’s a moment before he takes in what the pirate says. An heir? No, that can’t be right; it was only him, it had to be. His parents couldn’t be lying to him, could they? And of all the people that would know, surely it couldn’t be a group of pirates. 

 Why, if it _were_ true, would they even want the heir?

 Another moment passes, and Seonghwa decides.

 "I— no, you’re wrong.”

 “ _No_ , you are,” Yunho laughs.

 The prince looks back at him, “Do you hear yourself? You’re talking about another prince or princess. It’s not true, it can’t be. That’s _impossible_.”

 “Not exactly, little prince.”

 

“You’re lying to me.”

 “Why would we have the need for that?”

 

 “Who?”

 “Who what?”

 “Who told you that? Who told you there was another heir?”

 

“Y—”

“ _Yunho_ ,” Mingi warns, “let’s go.”

 The pirate hums, pulling out a dark cloth out of his pocket, rolling it quickly before forcing it into Seonghwa’s mouth. He tries to scream and resist against the pirate tying the cloth around the back of his head, but it's useless.

 “Should’ve done that the first time,” He mumbles, his face void of all emotions. 

 “Listen carefully,” Mingi says as Yunho reaches him at the ladder leading up the hatch, “You do as we say and you’ll be returned to your family. You weren’t part of what we originally planned but if we get what we want, you’ll get away with your life.”

 Seonghwa lets his shoulders drop as he watches the pirates disappear, the light coming from the hatch going dimmer until he was left almost completely in the dark once more, save for the lamp they had left with him, probably from the night before.

 He needs to find a way out of this. Soon.

 

* 

“You certainly know how to make an entrance, my friend.”

 “Nothing you haven’t seen before.”

 “You’ve also kidnapped the prince of the land. You’ve never done _that_.”

 “My men do what they have to, and that included leverage this time.”

 “Pirates aren’t evil people.”

 “No, but we’re _violent_. Especially, when we need to be.”

 “What do you plan to do with him?”

 “Nothing. For now.”

 “Its dangerous. The longer you keep, the more desperate the royal family will get.”

 “Perhaps that’s the plan.”

 “You really intend on finding this person. What if they don’t exist?”

 “We won’t know until we try.”

“I worry.”

 “About?”

 “Many things. You should be careful.”

 “When am I not?”

 “That’s a difficult question.”

 “Yet, you’re the only one that seems to always be able to answer it.”

 “Be careful.”

 “You told me that already.”

 “You don’t know who this prince is.”

 “He doesn’t know who _I_ am.”

 “The moment you get it, _kill him_.”

 

“ _I fully intend to_.”

 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to post! I was super busy with school and I just got out for vacation, so I'll be posting more frequently.
> 
> Thank you to those who waited for this chapter to go up, you mean a lot to me.
> 
> Sorry, if there are any mistakes, I'm half-asleep from a nap I just took lol
> 
> As always, this is dedicated to my friend A for always pushing me to write more :> Xxx


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! This one wasn't as long of a wait; sorry for the mistakes, I try my best to read through it multiple times so that I upload my best.
> 
> Thanks to those of you who stuck by and waited for so long for the last chapter. Here's to hoping for faster updates!
> 
> Don't worry, the story will pick up soon.
> 
> As always, thanks to A for inspiring me to keep writing, she's the best.
> 
> Xxx

*

 

Within the next two days at sea, the crew had spotted an island that looked safe enough to dock. They waited until the third day to actually leave the ship and explore the island, being fortunate enough to find a small town of people near the shore.

Not all the pirates left the ship, very few going into town looking for supplies, others sent to walk through the more open part of the jungle, not going deep enough to lose site of the ship.

On the fourth day, San finds himself looking out towards the ocean as he waits for three more of the crew to join him; two of them whose names he couldn’t care to remember, and Wooyoung.

 

The captain always had new or temporary crew members coming on board for certain things and during certain times, but he always had the same original crew in the end; he’d never led the original crew to think of any of these part-timers being permanent. Maybe it was because he was paranoid. Maybe it was because he knew how dangerous it was to trust people.

 

Or maybe it was because he was dangerous himself.

 

In any case, San thanks his lucky stars that most of these faces he spent days, weeks with, would not matter much to him towards the end of these journeys. 

“I find it a little ridiculous,” Wooyoung begins as he walks up behind San, “that we’re supposed to walk around this island like its not three feet in any direction. What else can we really find?”

San can’t help but smile; he keeps his back towards the other pirate.

“You’re complaining like its gonna get you out of it.”

“No, I’m complaining because I know I’m gonna have to do it anyway.”

“What the boss says—“

“Yeah, yeah,” Wooyoung sighs.

 

“How long before he kicks these losers off the boat?”

San snorts, “How drunk can we get them?”

He finally turns around to see Wooyoung smile brightly at him, raising an eyebrow.

 _Oh_ , San smiles back, _this will be fun_.

 

“Hey, you two! Ready?”

The two pirates turn to one of the other crew members, give each other one last look before walking towards them.

“We should stick together,” One of them says, “we wouldn’t want to get lost now, would we.”

“Sure,” San replies, nodding towards them, “new crew always goes first.”

Wooyoung snorts, mumbling under his breath, “Liar.”

 

Before they move to enter the the deeper part of the jungle, Wooyoung stops in front of a tree, looking up at it curiously.

San watches the other two pirates walk away from them before turning back to Wooyoung, “You’re gonna get lost if you get distracted like this.”

“Hmm,” He doesn’t seem particularly worried.

 

“San,” he walks around the tree, “look at this.”

He waits for Wooyoung patiently, turning to the jungle before turning back around to watch the other pirate walk towards him with sugarcane stalks in his hands.

He reaches out for one.

 

“So much for sticking together.”

“Who needs them,” Wooyoung mutters, pulling out one of his knives from his belt and hacking away at the stalks, pulling the outer layer off and cutting a chunk. San watches as he brings the stalk up to his nose to smell before popping it into his mouth to chew on the sugarcane. He waits another moment before doing the same to the stalk he had in his hands.

As he chews on the sweet plant, Wooyoung stares at him.

“What?”

“Are you ever gonna talk about it?”

 _So this is what he’s doing_.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t need to.”

“I think a lot of us would disagree.”

“I don’t care what you think,” San spits out the chewed up sugarcane before taking another bite out of the stalk, “what happened was my business.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Don’t we have something to do?”

San turns away from Wooyoung and begins to walk into the jungle, peeling off the outer layer of his stalk to keep him busy.

“You didn’t mean to.”

He sighs.

“Sure.”

"You didn’t.”

“That doesn’t change what happened.”

“I know it doesn’t,” Wooyoung says quietly.

 

They walk through the tall plants and clustered trees quietly, a cloud of tension hanging over San’s head. He didn’t want to handle this, he couldn’t; but it would eventually eat him alive and he knew it.

“What do you want me to say?”

“You need to let it go.”

“I can’t,” San stops, the sugarcane stalk he’d been hacking away at almost the size of his knife; he’d been shredding it without actually eating it.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“So I should just, what? Forget about it? Forgive myself?”

“San,” Wooyoung sighs, silently replacing San’s sugarcane with his own, finishing what little stalk was left of it.

“Okay, if it was an accident and I didn’t mean for it to happen, why won’t anyone who was there say it?”

 

He knew Wooyoung wouldn’t answer him.

“That’s what I thought too.”

 

“Do you know why people think pirates are scary?”

They continue walking, San looking back at Wooyoung who was walking slower than he was, stopping to cut down some smaller plants that were in their way to make the path back easier. He pauses, swinging the small machete he wielded with ease.

“Because we drink and party?”

San shakes his head, “Because of the things we do.”

“What do we do?”

“We take from those who don’t deserve what they have—”

“ _And,_ we give it to those who do.”

“Do they see it that way?”

Wooyoung laughs, cutting away at the vines and leaves around him, “No. They think we’re awful people. That we’re pointless criminals who steal and kill, and that we have nothing better do to than to plague the earth by taking up space.”

San stops walking, looking over at Wooyoung who, while speaking from the darkest place in his heart, had a light smile on his face.

“Wow.”

 

San pauses.

“ _Ow_.”

The other pirate snickers.

 

“We _are_ thieves,” San says at last, finishing up the sugarcane stalk, keeping a piece of the outer bark, “that’s kind of what a pirate does.”

“We also kill. I wouldn’t exactly call that pointless though.”

“What would you call it?”

“ _Efficient_.”

San hums, rubbing the bark until it was worn at the edges before beginning to shape it in his hands.

“You didn’t mean to do it,” Wooyoung says quietly, “That’s not what we’re about.”

“Any way you look at it,” he pulls out his own machete to help Wooyoung with the path, “I still killed a child.”

"It could've been a lot worse."

"This is my nightmare," San whispers, "The one thing I told myself I'd never do."

“They would’ve if you hadn’t.”

“The law only ever has one goal: the royal family are what they want to protect. Forget every other person that the law blankets over, they aren’t important if the royal family can’t rule over them.”

“Is that why you were upset with Yunho and Mingi?”

“I’m always upset with Mingi.”

“You’re worried about them.”

“They _kidnapped_ the prince. We can’t just let him go and expect that nothing will happen to us.”

“You should trust them.”

San sighs, “I do. That’s my problem.”

 

“I never understood that about you,” Wooyoung sheaths his machete.

“Understood what?”

“You rarely trust; and when you do, its only enough so that if something were to happen—“

He stops himself.

“I trust you,” San says, “and I _do_ trust them. I trust Yunho with my life, and Mingi to watch my back. The other guys, I know they’re there when I need them; they’re ready at any time, to do whatever for me, and when they need me I’m there. There’s not very many people I trust, but I trust you guys.”

Wooyoung nods, “Good to know.”

 

The two begin walking forward when they hear screams and rustling of leaves. The movement comes towards them, and the two pirates are ready for whatever attack it is—

Until they realize it’s the two crew members that they had come to inspect the jungle with, yelling loud enough to make ears bleed, their weapons long forgotten in their sheaths and holsters, flailing past San and Wooyoung.

They watch as the two run out the perfect path made by them (mostly Wooyoung), before turning back at each other with unimpressed, knowing looks.

“What happened to sticking together!”

 

*

 

Mingi knew there were a lot of perks to traveling by ship.

Having to get off the boat to restock supplies was not one of them.

 

He sighs as he strolls through the small town, checking and rechecking everything mentally off his list, wondering for the fifth time if he really had everything that was needed for the next days. He’d gotten used to being the one to do errands, the captain being very trustworthy of Mingi’s memory and have enough faith that he won’t run off with the captain’s money.

Very few times has Mingi thought of doing that; but that was a long time ago.

 

He passes by a booth outside of a house, the table set up and left alone.

 _That can’t be safe_ , Mingi thinks as he walks up to the table, looking through the assorted trinkets and charms laid out in an order that he doesn’t see. Maybe by color.

“If you’re thinking about someone stealing them, you should probably think again.”

Mingi looks up to see a woman standing in the doorway of the house, her arms crossed.

“Sorry, I come from a city where you can set your hat down on a table for a minute and the next it’s gone. All while it being right in front of you.”

“This ain’t no city, young man. Everyone knows everyone here.”

_Young man? She looks just as old as I do._

Mingi smiles at her, looking back down at the table. He notices a small gold coin attached to a chain, the symbol in the center seemingly unidentifiable by the years of corrosion.

“You part of the crew with that big shipped docked on the far side of the island?”

“Yeah,” He nods, not taking his eyes off the coin, “Just needed a few days to stock up on supplies.”

“You aren’t part of the guard from the mainland,” It’s not a question.

Mingi waits a moment and then shakes his head.

He hears her walk up on the other side of the table.

“You pirates?”

She asks in such a low voice that Mingi has to look up to make sure he didn’t hear wrong.

“Maybe.”

She stares at him for a moment before smiling brightly.

“My mom won’t admit it, but dad was a pirate when he was younger.”

“Oh?”

“Too many stories about the sea. Too many family heirlooms; treasures. Mom also makes sure that dad never goes late at night. She’s afraid he’ll run back to the water.”

“Has he ever?”

She laughs, “My dad’s crazy.”

“Do you think that about every pirate?”

“Maybe.”

Mingi nods, looking down at the coin once more before deciding he should get back to the ship.

 

“Do you think he’s crazy?”

“I’ve never met your father.”

“You don’t have to. You live with pirates. _You’re_ a pirate.”

“I think your mom has every right to worry about him.”

“But is he crazy?”

Mingi finally smiles at her, and he can hear her try to hide a gasp.

“The best pirates are.”

 

“It was nice meeting you,” He tells the woman, who can’t seem to look him in the eye anymore. She nods, a light blush tinting her cheeks.

 

“ _Wait_.”

 

He looks back at the ocean for a moment before glancing over at her. She has her arm stretched out, her hand fisted around something.

“I saw you staring at it,” She states quietly, “you might give it more love than my family has.”

Mingi hesitantly puts his hand under hers, watching as she opens her hand, feeling the weight of the coin drop in his palm. He flips the coin through his fingers, before pocketing it.

“I won’t, but I know who will. Thank you.”

“Have a good day,” She smiles one last time before ducking back in to her home.

Mingi looks back out to the shore, smiling at the calmness of the waves, the promise of going back into the endless, depthless waters comforting. The woman’s father wasn’t crazy, Mingi thinks, because he knows exactly what that man understands about running in the direction of the ocean.

Mingi may not have been raised this way, but it certainly has always been in his blood.

 

“You too.”

 

*

 

Yeosang keeps his head down as he watches the late night at the tavern pick up, the daily drunkards stumbling through the tables, singing songs about legends like mermaids and pirates, and treasures and beautiful women.

_  
Poor bastards._

 

Yeosang thinks about is life; how most of the time was spent with generations of a family on a ship, a life so dangerous, no child should ever live through it. Yet, here he was, a grown man, capable of many things these men in the tavern could only dream of.

Lies, scams, murder.

Yeosang would argue that he was living his best life.

 

Not that many people would assume that of him. In fact, not a single person would _want_ to assume that about him. He was young, sweet looking; well dressed, well spoken, how could he be a pirate?

 

A _monster_?

 

He smiles to the waitress as she brings him a beer, nodding to her politely, thanking her.

_Too easy_.

 

“ _Hilarious_ , isn’t it?”

Yeosang jumps as he looks over to the chair opposite of him now occupied.

“Do you have to do that?”

Yeosang watches as the man smiles at him.

“You should loosen up a little. Maybe sing a song or two about pirates and treasure.”

Yeosang laughs, “Hits too close to home.”

“I would know.”

Yeosang pushes the beer towards his guest.

 

“What have you found out?”

“Nothing,” Yeosang sighs, “either people know and don’t want to say out of fear, or they don’t know. The royals have locked this information up pretty well.”

“Nothing you can’t handle.”

“It might take me a little more time, but I can get what we need.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind you can, Yeosang.”

 

Yeosang looks over just as one of the older men topples over a table, off of his chair.

“Goddamn drunks,” Yeosang mutters as he takes out change from his pocket and throws it on to the table before standing up and walking out of the tavern.

He knows the man that was at the table with him will follow him.

 

“I’m troubled,” Yeosang says once they’re both outside, “Yunho and Mingi—“

“They did what they had to.”

“You’re okay with that?”

The man smiles, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“This could get ugly.”

He watches as the man walks past him, back to Yeosang. He puts his hands behind his back before turning to look at Yeosang.

 

“That is what we’re all about.”

*

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the typos, etc. Thanks to my main girly A, she's the reason I can write rn


End file.
